"So What?": Encouraging Stewardship

The National Park Service is charged with the management of some of our nation’s most significant cultural resources. The goal of the interpretation of archeology is for visitors to develop an ethic for stewardship through finding personal meaning in the resources. This isn’t necessarily as hard as it might seem: A recent poll by Harris Interactive suggests that the American public’s curiosity about archeology lays the groundwork. The poll shows that people think archeology has educational value and informs modern life; they also agree that laws should protect archeological resources. Interpretation plays an important role in cultivating the public’s curiosity and building a stewardship ethic.

We want visitors to move away from using the phrase “So what?” to express indifference for the resources. We want them to use “So what?” in another way, one that demonstrates critical thinking and personal involvement and dialogue in a subject. An ethic for understanding and protecting archeological resources comes from such connections.

Effective interpretation moves a visitor to realize the relevance and significance of resources in contemporary life and how he or she plays a role in protecting them. Archeologists can take the opportunity to encourage stewardship by the public as a way to spread the message of the importance of the field.

The relationship between resources, audience, and interpretation is key:

• Resources possess meanings and relevance, but they are complicated to interpret because individuals see different meanings in the same resources.
• Audiences seek something special about resources, something of particular value or resonance to them that is interesting, unique, or entertaining. While the interpreter’s primary goal is to provide accurate, balanced access to meanings and interpretation’s primary goal is to inspire audiences to care about the resources, audiences must be allowed to form their own passions and understandings aside from the interpreter.
• Interpretation, then, facilitates a connection between the interests of the visitor and the meanings of the resource. Audience interest and preservation go hand in hand: The public must care about a resource before people will value its preservation and, as a result, archeological resource preservation depends on the audience’s access to the meanings of the resources.

Interpretation connects the resource and the audience by presenting broadly relevant meaning. To attain this goal, “So what?” can be distilled into three steps within the interpretive process that are important for archeologists to understand and use successfully:

1. Define the relationship between resource, audience, and interpretation
2. Link tangible resources to intangible resources and meanings
3. Communicate universal concepts

Archeologists and interpreters should emphasize stewardship of archeological resources in any visitor exchange, from tours of archeological sites to exhibitions to discussions of ongoing fieldwork. Through effective preservation and protection, archeological resources can continue to convey their important history about people from the past to present and future generations of Americans.

Interpretive programs reach park visitors when they are still forming their opinions, value, and ethics. Long-term survival of park resources depends upon a stewardship ethic among the general population. The majority of threats to the resource are, by definition, caused by humans. Establishing a bond between visitors and the park can create a sense of shared ownership and lifelong commitment to park ethics.

home contents 1. introduction 2. what is interpretation? Introduction what is interpretation? "So What?": Encouraging stewardship Misconceptions about interpretation Sound familiar? Why does the NPS interpret archeology? References Additional resources print this chapter   3. what do interpreters do? 4. tools for interpreters 5. personal and professional responsibilities 6. issues of sensitivity 7. use what you know 8. archeologists and interpreters working together 9. additional resources Course Certificate credits

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